Gryffindor King: A Study in Evil - Secrets and Flames
by KeepSmiling1
Summary: After the Marauders bring Godric Gryffindor back to life, James starts to get weaker. Join the rest of the marauders as they uncover ancient secrets and seek to survive a dangerous wildfire! Written for the Houses Competition Forum, Second Part of Three - Links in AN


A/N House: Badgers. Class Subject: Charms. Category: Bonus. Prompt: [Weather] Wildfire. Word Count: 1758. Chapter 2/3 [Chapter 1 written by DarylDixon'sgirl1985; Chapter 3 written by willowohwisp]

Sirius' eyes burned from more than smoke. Since the resurrection, Remus had been warning them that something was off about Godric Gryffindor. They had all ignored his warnings. Despite initial misgivings, Sirius and Peter had both warmed up to their new professor fairly quickly after he had helped them with a little prank that turned everything in the Great Hall red and gold. Even ignoring that, Merlin knew he was better than their last Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor. Gryffindor actually wanted his students to practice dueling in his class and gave additional lessons to those who wanted them. All of those who took him up on it showed it too. After a lesson with Gryffindor, students seemed to find an inner focus and dueled like champions. What did it matter if some of the resulting injuries were sufficient to require a trip to Madam Pomfrey's for a few days? This was real training! It wasn't until later that Sirius would discover that the chosen ones were given a potion that allowed the professor to act as a puppet master during their duels. They walked away feeling like they had gained a skill but were unable to replicate it later.

Ugh, they had been so stupid! Gryffindor met with James almost every day after they resurrected him. Supposedly, he wanted to know more about how his family line was faring and help James reach his potential. For some reason, James always returned from those visits weaker than before. Today, he'd barely been able to perform any magic at all...hence the situation Sirius found himself in - a full moon and one stag missing.

A few hours into the full moon, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had come across Godric Gryffindor attempting to perform a ritual of some sort by the light of a massive bonfire. Rather than attempt to attack Gryffindor, Moony had started whimpering and rubbing at his nose as if something was burning it. The wind shifted, and Sirius smelt it as well. While a part of Gryffindor's scent was soothingly familiar due to his distant relation to James, the overwhelming majority of the smell was similar to what one would expect decaying flesh to smell like. The harsh smoke from the fire only augmented the choking wrongness of the smell. A loud growl emitted from the resurrected wizard, and Padfoot only just managed to avoid whimpering as the fire reached new heights, meeting two huge griffins who landed before the powerful wizard. A series of clicks, screeches, and growls passed back and forth, and Padfoot's eyes grew larger as he realized what he was hearing - _Femitongue_, the language of the griffins, had not been spoken by a wizard since ancient times. The grand fire flickered in just the right way for two other creatures to make themselves seen by the boys. Within the great claws of the griffins were...unicorn foals?

Any idea that Gryffindor was arguing for the release of the pure creatures was destroyed when, in horror, they watched him summarily bleed the foals dry and use their blood to write runes on the ground and on his face. Even Moony seemed to understand that something very wrong was happening, but before they could leave, a high-pitched screech reminiscent of a bird of prey pierced the air as the runes began to glow. The three boys were frozen in place as ancient, maleficent magic energized the air. Just as the energy reached its peak, Gryffindor - who had previously seemed unaware of their presence - quite purposefully looked their way. "Lupin, Black, and Pettigrew...out after curfew I see, and in such a dangerous location as the Forbidden Forest. It's forbidden for a reason you know," the fire highlighted a wicked gleam in the wizard's eyes, and his cruel smirk belied false concern. "Best stick with me until you can be returned to the castle...Accio wolf! Accio dog! Accio rat!"

Charmed ropes wrapped around Moony and Padfoot tightly. Moony whimpered from the silver imbedded in his. Wormtail was harshly thrown into a small cage and appeared to have passed out - from fear or injury was anyone's guess. It seemed like Gryffindor had been awaiting them.

"I suppose you are wondering about that little ritual you observed?" Gryffindor asked Sirius as the only member of the captive audience who could understand him. The black dog nodded while his heart beat a million times per minute. Sirius didn't know how he would get out of this, nevermind get Remus or Pete safe, but he figured a monologue from their captor would give him time to think of something, if nothing else.

"This story begins a thousand years ago when a much older version of myself came to a startling conclusion...wizarding kind was a truly fickle thing. In my lifetime, I had stopped three dark wizards from destroying our world, the last of which had been my best friend. No matter what steps were taken at our fledgling school, new monsters seemed determined to teach division and hate. It was up to me to stop the cycle, and none other could be trusted to do so. My search for immortality led to the ritual you boys performed. While I could not prevent my death, I could ensure the ability of my line to bring me back after which I could take the next step - what you saw tonight."

Padfoot knew enough stories from his own family line to know that the search for immortality often coincided with great insanity. At the moment, he had a greater concern, however. During his monologue, Gryffindor had ceased to focus on maintaining a magical boundary that kept the bonfire in control. Said fire had begun to lick closer and closer to where the wolf and dog lay captive. Thankfully, there was no wind to exacerbate the issue.

"The world would have been a very different place for you boys had I only been able to pass on the means of my resurrection to my eldest. Unfortunately, he was abroad when I learned of it. Instead, I encouraged various paintings and figures around the castle to pass on a...legend, if you will, after my death."

Padfoot nudged at the ropes as much as he could trying to ask why he had attacked them. The new position gave him an idea for how he could escape.

"Why have I trapped you three? Shortly before my temporary demise, a student with seer ancestry went into a trance. The prophecy was markedly connected to my plans of immortality. _The Child of Courage will return the Elder. Only the influence of the Black, the Wolf, and the Rat can put a stop to the Gryffin Reign with the help of the Child. _Having met you three, I am not surprised that you would attempt to stop my reign. Your family has been dark since Hogwarts was founded, Black, and I cannot believe an heir of mine would be stupid enough to put his trust in a dark creature or someone with such an untrustworthy animal form as a rat. Looking at the world today, I'm afraid that I can't allow you to succeed in stopping me. All this pureblood superiority nonsense must be stopped, and I'm afraid that I'm the only one who can do it. So you see, your deaths are necessary. Don't worry though, I'll help James recover from his grief. I've got to keep my future host in good health, don't you know. Yes, that's right. My host. Since I've returned, my magic has been mingling with your friend. By the time this body is ready to expire, it will have mingled enough that I can simply move into James' body. Don't worry though, by that point, he will simply be a shell of the boy you knew."

Strangely, rope doesn't stand up very well to unrestrained fire, and anger can be equally destructive. At hearing Gryffindor's plans for them all, but especially James, Sirius's fury reached a pinnacle, and he pounced just as the bonds restraining him released. A griffin prevented him from reaching his target, however. Moony, seeing his packmate in danger, seemed to gain a renewed energy as well in spite of the painful-looking burns covering his skin from the silver laced into his ropes. He likewise joined the fray, at which point Gryffindor chose to escape the havoc on the back of the other griffin. Their opponent, not wanting to be left behind, took a final swipe at the two canines before taking off as well.

Unable to release Peter from the cage without thumbs and unsure if his friend was even awake even if he could get him out, Sirius awkwardly grabbed the handle of the cage in his jaw and sought a way of escape. Alas, the once-controlled bonfire had grown exponentially into a raging wildfire, the flames of which seemed to be everywhere, disorienting Sirius dreadfully. Moony seemed to have a better sense of direction than him though and moved with purpose just ahead. Trusting his friend, Sirius followed, hoping against hope that they would make it out alive and be able to put a stop to the monster they had helped bring into the world. After an adrenaline-fueled run that seemed to last an eternity, they eventually got out of the immediate danger zone. They were lost in the forest with senses that were dulled from the extreme heat and the smoke they had endured, but the flames were no longer licking at their heels. Sirius moved forward to walk alongside Moony, urging him forward. Both were exhausted, but tenacity was a valuable tool. Dog and wolf kept each other moving away from the fire, always away from the flames. As one would collapse from their injuries or fatigue, the other would nudge until they could move as a team again. Finally, finally the astronomy tower was in sight. Just as the two (Sirius still carrying Peter's cage in his mouth) left the forest, dawn began peeking in the horizon. The shift from wolf to human is horrifying and painful under the best of circumstances; these were not the best of circumstances. The shift proved to be the breaking point of Remus who promptly collapsed in the wake of the agony of his burns. Sirius managed to maintain consciousness long enough to release Peter from his prison, condition unknown. Sirius only had time to hope James would come to find them soon before he fainted himself, visions of flames imprinted on his eyelids.


End file.
